I Do Not Know You

I Do Not Know You

¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. ¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Matthew 25:10-13

The ending for the foolish virgins is terrifying. They were so close to being saved and yet find a locked door between them and salvation. What is even scarier is what the bridegroom, Jesus, says to them. ‘I do not know you.’

That is the last thing I would ever want to hear from Jesus. What it shows is that no relationship with him was ever created. You can have the name of Jesus in your mouth all the time, like singers and actors who thank God at every awards show, but not have any real relationship with him.

It’s not the only time that Jesus expresses this idea.

Later on in the chapter Jesus says, ⁴¹ ‘‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

Knowing Jesus is seeing him in others. Helping those in need, in and out of the church, is part of knowing God and Jesus.

Let us build our faith and relationship with Jesus. Let us not be shut out of salvation. Let us never hear the words, ‘I do not know you.’

God bless,

Pr. Steven Couto